St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol.

II (March 2007)

Divine Will and Predestination

In the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah
‫ار و ا
ء‬
By ‘Umar S. al-Ashqar

This nicely designed book is Part 6 in the Islamic Creed Series of

International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH). It is the translation of
the Arabic original that was published in 1990. This English version
was published in Riyadh in 2003.
The following summary of this book is written by Abu Banaat. For
the transcription of Arabic words, the system of the book has been
followed as much as possible. For the sake of clarification, another
manner of numbering the subdivisions in the chapters has been use
than in the original book. Abu Banaat also added some comments in
footnotes and some questions for discussion of this book summary in
the end.

Translator’s Foreword not sure whether ‘Umar S. al-

The English translator of the
Arabic original of this book
says that the author tries to
explain how all that happens in
life is decreed before creation
by God, and how at the same
time people must be actively
pursuing doing what is
prescribed by Islam.
According to the translator,
while ‘all that happens, takes
place within the framework of
the Divine Will, man has
freedom of choice within those
parameters’. (p. 13) In the
light of the actual book, it is
Ashqar would be happy with
that statement.
1. Belief in Qadar
(Predestination) is one
of the basic principles
of faith (Usuul al-
Eemaan)
The author proves the
importance of the divine
decree, or predestination
(qadar) by quoting some
hadiths and verses from the
Qur’an. In one hadith, the

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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
Islamic Prophet says that faith
is ‘to believe in God, his
angels, his books, his
messengers, and to believe in
divine destiny (qadar), both
the good and the evil thereof’.
(p. 22)
The term qadar is part of a
group of words that describe
God’s power. Power (Qudrah)
is one of his attributes. Three
of his names are related to the
same word: He is called al-
Qaadir (Able), al-Qadeer (All-
Powerfull) and al-Muqtadir
(Omnipotent). The verb all
these words are derived from
is qadara-yaqdiru. That verb
means basically to measure.1
(pp. 23-24)
Denying qadar is denying
God’s power, according to the
writer. He defines qadar by
saying that ‘all events, good
and bad, beneficial and
harmful, happen by the will
and decree of Allah’. Those
who have a different view do
1
According to J.M. Cowan (ed),
Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans
Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written
Arabic (Beirut, 1980), qadara-yaqdiru
means, to decree, ordain, decide. It is
correct that the word is presently used
in that sense, but the author’s
comment that it means to measure
refers to the original usage of the
word. God’s act of measuring out
what each person’s lot in life would be,
came to mean to decree, ordain,
decide.
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not believe in Tawheed, the
absolute unity of the divine, as
they believe that beside the
Creator of good, there is
another creator of evil. ‘Those
among our ummah who
believe this, say that the sins
which occur do not happen by
the Will of Allah, and they may
also say that he does not know
about them [ahead of time].
They say that all the deeds of
living beings happen without
His power of creation. So they
deny that He has an irresistible
Will and complete Power.’ (p.
25)
2. A Glance at the
history of Qadar
A hadith says that one day,
some men were discussing
qadar. When the prophet
overheard this, he became
very angry: ‘The people who
came before you were
destroyed when they disputed
about this matter. I urge you
not to dispute about this.’
According to the writer, it is
not known that any of the
companions of the prophet
discussed qadar since then. (p.
26)
The first man to go on
record speaking about qadar
was Sawsan, a man from Iraq
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
who was a Christian and
became a Muslim, but returned
to Christianity again. He is
seen as the initiator of the
theological movement of the
Qadaris, later called the
Mu‘tazilah.2 These argued that
evil cannot be attributed to
Allah, and that it is wrong to
believe that Allah would decree
people to be unbelievers and
to then punish these people for
that. These people also
argued that the individual has
the power (qudrah) to initiate
his own actions independently
from Allah; they denied that
things happen by the qadar
and qadaa’ of Allah. Hence
these people were called al-
Qadariyah by the Sunni
scholars. (pp. 29-30)
The author says that
Muhammad called al-
Qadariyah ‘Magi’, as they
adhered, like the Zoroastrians,
to the idea of two creators:
one for all things good, and
one for evil. ‘But Allah […] is
the Creator of both good and
evil, and nothing of them
happens except by His Will.’3
(p. 31)
2 Tablet) in His words
It is important to be careful and not
take the description of al-Qadariyah at
face value, as the author, a Wahhabi
scholar, sees them as theological
enemies.
3
Many of the hadiths used in this book
seem to reflect the philosophical
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Other groups in Islam
accepted qadar, but used that
as a pretext for doing as they
pleased, and to negate the
importance of commands and
prohibitions. They claimed
that ‘the individual is
compelled to do what he does,
and that he has no choice as to
whether he does it or not.’
Especially ascetics and Sufis
are mentioned as holding this
idea. (pp. 31-32)
3. Definition of Qadaa’
(Divine Will) and
Qadar (Predestination)
3.1 Definition of Qadar
Qadar includes two things:
1 The eternal knowledge
of Allah, by which he
ruled that He would
create whatever He
wanted to exist, and
that He specified the
qualities of the things
He wanted to create.
He wrote down all of
that in al-Lauh al-
Mahfooz (The Preserved
with the Pen.
discussions about qadar and free will
that were held in the ummah long
after Muhammad had passed away.
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)

2 The creation of The belief in Qadar has four

whatever Allah […] has pillars (summarized on p. 37):
decreed should exist,
according to His prior 1 Belief that the
knowledge and what knowledge of God is
was written by His Pen; all-encompassing; He
whatever happens in even knows what
reality is identical to would have happened
that prior, written if things happen that
knowledge. (p. 34) have not happened.
2 Belief that He has
3.2 Definitions of al-Qadaa’ written in the
(Divine Wil) Preserved Tablet
everything that will
The term al-qadaa’ is closely come to pass
related to qadar; it means 3 Belief in the
decree, judgment, decision, irresistible will and
and it is often used of God’s perfect power of God;
decisions. Scholars disagree what He wills happens
whether qadar or qadaa’ is the and what He does not
basis for the other. The author will does not happen
thinks that qadar is the basis 4 Belief that God
for qadaa’, and holds that created everything
qadar is the decree, while that exists, and that
qadaa’ is more specific and He has no partner in
refers to the implementation of creation
the decree in time. (pp. 35-
37).4 In the context of the first
point, the author points to a
3.3 The Pillars of Belief in hadith that says that ‘Allah
Qadar created [some] people for
Paradise; He created them for
4
it when they were still in the
The overwhelming majority of Islamic
loins of their forefathers. And
scholars makes Qadaa’ the universal,
general and eternal decree, and Qadar He created people for Hell; He
the individual development or created them for it when they
application of that in time. See entry were still in the loins of their
Kadā’ in H.A.R. Gibb and J.H. Kramers
forefathers’. (p. 40). The
(eds), Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam
(Leiden, 1974, first edition 1953), p. author underlines that God
199.

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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
does not send people to hell
based on his foreknowledge
only, but also because of their
deeds. (p. 41)
Regarding the second
point, ‘Allah wrote the decrees
of His creation fifty thousand
years before He created the
heavens and the earth’,
according to one hadith. (p.
43)
The first thing He created
was the Pen, for writing the
qadar in the Preserved Tablet.
That Tablet is also called al-
Kitaab, Umm al-Kitaab, etc.
The Qur’an is part of the
Preserved Tablet. (pp. 44-45)
Regarding the third point,
the author clarifies that
whatever man wills, good or
bad, is based on what God
wills them to will. (pp. 45-47)
3.4 People’s Deeds are
Created by Allah and
Decreed by Him
People and their deeds are not
different to any other created
things as far as qadar is
concerned. God ‘already
knows what He will create
through the actions of His
slaves and He knows what they
will do’. All of that is written in
the Preserved Tablets. ‘Allah
knows the people of Paradise
and facilitates and assists them
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to the deeds of the people of
Paradise, and He knows the
people of Hell and facilitates
them to the actions of the
people of Hell.’ (pp. 48-49)
Even though ‘the Lord of
people knows what people will
do: He has willed it and
decreed that […] He knows
people’s ultimate destiny […]
But at the same time He has
told us that qadar is not a
reason why people should not
strive.’ The author quotes a
verse without referencing it:
‘Strive, for each person will be
guided to do that for which he
was created.’ (p. 50)
The author then uses six
arguments to prove that Allah
decreed the deeds of His
slaves:
1 Hadiths indicate that
the pens have dried
concerning people’s
deeds and that events
materialize
accordingly. The
author quotes a
hadith in which
Muhammad confirms
that ‘what we strive
to do emanates from
[...] something that
has been decreed
already.’ (p. 51)
2 Allah knows who will
go to Paradise and
who will go to Hell
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)

The progeny of Adam virtue of that deed’.

were brought forth (p. 53)
from his loins after he In order to avoid that
was created, and people would ever
were divided in two blame their
groups – the people of forefathers for their
Paradise and the bad behavior and lack
people of Hell. The of faith, God spoke to
author quotes a the people when they
hadith: ‘After creating were taken as small
Adam, Allah wiped his ants from Adam’s
back and brought loins. He made all of
forth his progeny from them testify that He
his back, looking like was their [sole] Lord,
little ants, and from ‘lest you should say:
them He brought forth It was only our
the people of Paradise forefathers who took
and the people of others as partners in
Hell’. (p.52) First he worship along with
brought forth those Allah, and we were
for Paradise, then [merely their]
those for Hell. (p. 53) descendants after
3 God said ‘I have them.’ (p. 54)
created these for Hell, 4 Allah has written down
and they will do the the names of the
deeds of the people of people of Paradise
Hell. [So] a man and the people of
asked: so why should Hell. That does not
we strive?’ The mean that people
answer was: ‘If Allah should not strive: ‘Do
created a person for what is right and do
Paradise, He will your best, for the
cause him to do the person who is
deeds of the people of destined for Paradise
Paradise, until he dies will be caused to die
doing one of the when he is doing one
deeds of the people of of the deeds of the
Paradise, so he will people of Paradise, no
enter Paradise by

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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
matter what he did
before’. (p. 55)
5 The decree on Laylat
al-Qadar and the
decree day to day. In
Laylat al-Qadar the
annual decree of who
will live and die
during the coming
year, how much
provision and rain
people will have, what
actions people will do,
and so on, are
transferred from the
Preserved Tablet.
The term ‘daily
decree’ means the
carrying out of the
decrees so that they
happen at the times
previously
determined. (p. 56)
6 The writing of the
decree for a person
when he is a fetus in
his mother’s womb.
One hadith says that
Allah sends an angel
to the fetus, to write
down his provision,
his lifespan, and
whether he is doomed
or blessed. ‘Everyone
of you is collected in
the womb of his
mother for the first
forty days, and then
he becomes a clot for
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another forty days,
and then a piece of
flesh for another forty
days. Then Allah
sends an angel to
breathe the soul into
him. Then he is
commanded to write
four decrees: his
provision, his
lifespan, his deeds,
and whether he will
be doomed or
blessed.’ Another
hadith adds that after
the stage of sperm,
clot and lump of
flesh, Allah completes
his creation, so the
angel says: ‘O Lord,
male or female,
doomed or blessed?
What is his provision?
What is his lifespan?
All of that is written
while he is in his
mother’s womb. (pp.
57-58)
The author finishes the chapter
by focusing on the need to
strive to do good: ‘When Allah
wills good for His slave, […]
how does He guide him?
[Muhammad] said: ‘He helps
him to do a righteous deed
before he dies.’ A person may
do the deeds of the people of
Paradise all his life, but if his
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
life ends with a deed of the
people of Hell, that shows his
fate. ‘It is the final deed that
counts.’ (pp. 59-60)
4. Limits within which
Qadar may be
subjected to rational
analysis
‘The way to understand he
matter is’, according one
hadith, ‘to stop at what has
been said in he Qur’an and
Sunnah, without referring to
analogy and reason. […] Qadar
is one of the secrets of Allah
which is known only to the All-
Knowing. […] Delving into the
matter means that one will be
forsaken by Allah and lost in
confusion, deprivation and
transgression’. (p. 61)
Another hadith commands
people to believe in qadar ‘and
not to ask why or how’. (p. 62)
‘The attempt to understand
how Allah knew, wrote, willed
and created, is an attempt to
understand the essence of
Allah’s attributes and how
these attributes operate.
These matters are hidden from
the human mind. This is
something which is unseen,
which we are required to
believe in, but it is not
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permissible to ask about their
nature and essence. [Asking]
how is bid’ah (heresy).’ (pp.
63-64)
Those who were unwise to
discuss qadar, discussed how
Allah created the deeds of His
slaves when these deeds stem
in fact from the individual, how
Allah knows what His slaves
will do, and how He obliged His
slaves to strive even though
He knew what they would do,
and He knows whether their
ultimate destination will be
Paradise or Hell. (p.64)
The shari‘ah has three
purposes:
1 Through reason people
know what is good and
evil, but only by the
shari‘ah do people know
that they will be
punished by Hell for
wrong deeds. (p. 66)
2 Actions are determined
to be good or evil by
the Lawgiver. When He
commands that
something is good, it is
good.
3 The Lawgiver
commands things as a
test and a trial, as when
He commanded
Ibraheem to kill his son.
(p. 67)
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
The Mu‘talizah only agreed to
the first issue. The Ash‘ari’ah
says that all commands are a
test, and that no deeds in
themselves are good or evil.
Wise scholars agree to all three
points. (p. 67)
5. Schools of thought
on Qadar
5.1 The View of those who
deny Qadar
At the end of the period of the
Companions of the Prophet,
the view developed that God
does not know ahead of time
what will happen. The
Mu‘talizah later adopted this
position. (p. 69) The author
quotes a hadith that compares
people with this opinion with
Magi (i.e. Zoroastrians)
because of their dualism, as he
holds that they say that ‘each
person is a creator alongside
Allah’. (p. 71) The group that
holds that God does not know
things ahead of time, has more
or less disappeared. (p. 73).
The Qadariyah nowadays hold
that God knows all things
ahead of time, but they still
maintain that ‘people’s deed
are done by them and stem
from them independently of
Allah’. (p. 74) They
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‘acknowledge that Allah has
created man with a will (to
choose), but they say that this
will is the potential to choose;
when his will is connected to
something specific, then this
action is not created (by
Allah)’. (p. 74).
The author’s conclusion is
that these people are worse
than dualists, as they say that
there are ‘numerous creators
for each individual, and for
each action. They say that
every created being is also a
creator’. (p.74)
‘The inevitable implication
of this view is that people’s
actions lie beyond the creation
of Allah and are not subject to
His sovereignty and control.
This means that there may
exist in His Dominion things
that He does not will, and that
He wills things that do not
happen, so they are
independent of Allah’. (p. 75)
This implies ‘that the will of the
kaafir overpowered the will of
Allah’. (p. 75)
The author uses many
pages full of examples from
the hadiths to prove that God
is All-Powerful and that all that
happens in reality is because
He decreed that to happen. He
also treats some special
issues:
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
5.2 Specious Arguments
and their Refutation
5.2.1 The meaning of
blotting out and confirming
in the books, and the
increase and decrease in
people’s lifespans
In the Qur’an and the hadiths,
sometimes language is used
that seems to indicate that the
lifespan of a person or his
provisions may be changed,
but that is only in the eyes of
man, from an experiential
viewpoint. ‘What can be
changed or altered is what
people see of the deeds of a
person [but] whatever was
previously known to Allah
cannot be blotted out’. (P.86)
5.2.2 Reconciliation
between the idea that Allah
decrees all things and the
hadith ‘every child is born
in a state of fitrah (the
natural inclination of
mankind)’
How can it be that Allah has
decreed all things, while all
children are born in a state of
fitrah (i.e., as Muslims)? The
authors answer by saying that
‘Allah has created His slaves in
such a way that they are free
from false beliefs, and [He]
has created them with the
readiness to accept the sound
beliefs, but when they are
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born, the devils from among
mankind and the jinn surround
them and corrupt their sound
nature (fitrah), but Allah
protects those whom He
wishes to guide to the truth.
Allah knows those who will
remain steadfast and adhere to
the sound fitrah, and those
whose fitrah is changed. He
knows that from eternity and it
is written. (pp. 86-87)
5.2.3 If all things are
decreed, what is the
meaning of the aayah
‘whatever of evil befalls
you, is from yourself’?
This verse is taken out of
context; in the Qur’an (4:78-
79) it says: ‘And if some good
reaches them, they say: this is
from Allah. But if some evil
befalls them, they say: this is
from you [O Muhammad].
Say: All things are from Allah,
so what is wrong with these
people that they fail to
understand any word?
Whatever of good reaches you,
is from Allah, but whatever of
evil befalls you, is from
yourself?’
According to the author,
the words ‘is from yourself’
mean, that the sins of the
person are the cause of his
calamity, not Muhammad. And
‘even this is decreed; it is
because Allah has decreed that
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
calamities will come about
because of sins.’ (pp. 89-90)
5.2.4 How did Allah create
and decree evil?
Allah does not create pure evil
in which there is no good of
benefit whatsoever to
anybody, and in which there is
no wisdom and mercy. He
does not punish people without
them having sinned. [There is]
wisdom and mercy behind the
creation of Iblees, insects and
wild beasts. Any created thing
may be considered good in one
sense and evil in another.
Allah created Iblees in order to
test His slaves through them.
(p. 91)
5.3 Those who do not
Strive, Relying on Qadar
Instead
If God knows everything and
all matters are decreed, even
man’s eternal destination, why
should anyone bother to
strive? This idea has been
prevalent among ascetics and
Sufis. They see man as a
feather blown in the wind.
These people forsake striving
on the grounds of qadar, even
before it happens. They also
use qadar […] as an excuse for
the things that they do which
are contrary to shari‘ah. (p.
92)
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Some go as far as claiming
that God loves kufr (unbelief),
shirk (polytheism), killing,
zinaa (adultery), as he created
it all. (pp. 92-93)
They also argue that God is
not asking something
reasonable from man: He
obliges man to ‘believe and
follow the laws of Allah [while
this is] something only the
Creator can do. […] So He has
obliged His creation to do His
deeds, and they are not able to
do that, and then He punishes
them for doing it, when in fact
they are not the ones who do
it’. (p. 95)
Their thinkers suggest that
what Allah wills and what He
loves are the same thing. ‘He
willed everything that exists in
the universe, and everything
that He willed, He also loves.’
(p. 96)
The overwhelming number
of people follow the belief in al-
jabr (the belief that one is
forced or compelled to do what
one does). ‘Belief in al-Jabr
takes away man’s
responsibility and the burden
of having committed sins, and
puts the blame on the forces
which motivate the will of man
and lead him to commit those
sins’. (p. 97)
This leads to the concept
that in the end, it does not
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
matter whether one does good
or bad. (p. 98)
5.4 Refutation of al-
Qadariyah al-Jabariyah
5.4.1 Their error in using
the word jabr (compulsion)
Allah does not force anyone;
The one who forces others is
the one who is not able to
make others want to choose
something because they
themselves like it and want to
do it. But Allah is Able to do
that, for He is the one who
makes a person want and like
to do something.
The word jabr can be used,
but only in the sense that God
makes people want what they
want. One of the names of God
is al-Jabbaar (the Compeller).
It means: ‘He makes people do
what He wants.’ (p. 100)
5.4.2 Denying that man has
the freedom to choose what
he does is a sign of
irrational thinking
Those who say than man does
not have the will to do as he
chooses ‘are not thinking
straight’. ‘We know from our
own selves that our actions are
not like the actions of
inanimate objects which have
no control whatsoever over
their own movements. […]
When a person eats and
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drinks, rides […] buys and sells
things, sits down, stands up,
gets married, gets divorced
and so on, he does those
things by choice, by his own
will and strength.’ (p. 102)
‘The Qur’an constantly
attributes deeds to the people
who do them.’ (p. 103)
5.4.3 The claim that Allah
loves and is pleased with
everything that He has
decreed and created
This is a false claim, for Allah
willed that kufr […], shirk […]
and other sins [...] should
exist, but He hates them and
forbids His slaves to do these
things. (p. 103)
5.4.4 The claim that belief
in qadar implies that one
need not take action or
seek the means to an end
‘Allah decreed ends and
means; He did not decree
effects without causes.
Whoever claims that Allah
decreed the ends and the
effects without the means and
causes is fabricating a serious
lie about Allah.’ (p. 104)
The author mentions some
examples, like: ‘If Allah
decreed that so and so will be
blessed with a child, then He
decrees that he will get
married and have intimate
relations with his wife, for the
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
means (and causes) are part of
what is decreed. (p. 105)
‘If Allah decrees that so
and so will go to Paradise, He
also decrees that he will
believe and do righteous deeds
[…] If He decrees that so and
so will be one of the people of
Hell he also decrees the causes
of that, such as not believing
and not doing righteous
deeds.’ (p. 105)
‘Implementing the means is
part of the qadar of Allah. It
does not contradict qadar at
all.’ (p. 107)
The ‘prior decree of Allah
does not cancel out the need
to strive, and it does not imply
that we should depend only on
Allah’s decree. On the
contrary, it should motivate us
to strive hard and make the
effort to attain whatever will be
of benefit in this world and in
the Hereafter.’ (p. 108)
‘But we must note that
even if a person pursues the
means, it is not permissible for
him to rely on them alone and
put his trust in them. He must
put his trust in the One Who
created them and initiated
them.’ (p. 108)
5.4.5 Using qadar as an
excuse
‘If qadar […] were really a
valid excuse, then everyone
could kill, spread corruption
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[etc.] But all wise people
know that this excuse is
unacceptable, otherwise all of
life would be corrupted. […]
Qadar should be used to
explain calamities, not to
justify our faults. [..] Before it
happens, he must seek the
help of Allah, put his trust in
Him and call upon Him. If the
decree of Allah befalls him
without him being the cause of
it, then he must bear it with
patience or accept it, and if it
comes by his own action and is
a blessing, then he should
praise Allah for it; if it is a sin,
then he should seek Allah’s
forgiveness for that.’ (p. 112)
‘The wise believer does not
forsake doing something on
the basis that Allah’s decree
concerning him is cut and
dried. He must take the
commands seriously, know
what Allah wants him to do,
and think of that which will
benefit him. Then he should
do his utmost to adhere to the
commands of Allah and to
pursue the means in which he
thinks his best interests lie. If
he does not succeed, he should
not waste his time in regret
and sorrow; in such cases he
should say only […] Allah
decreed and whatever He
willed happened. […] Believing
in qadar and using it as a
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
justification is beneficial in
treating the psychological
problems, which result from
failure, which take away and
waste people’s energy. Belief
in qadar should not prevent
them from striving in the
future.’ (p.114)
The author then treats a
hadith in which Adam and
Moses have a dispute. Moses
blames Adam for his sin that
caused God to send all of
mankind down to earth from
Paradise. Adam defended his
sin by pointing Moses to the
fact that the Tawraat (Torah)
was written by Allah 40 years
before Adam was created. In
the Torah the words ‘Thus did
Adam disobey his Lord, so he
went astray’ (Qur’an 20:121)
were written. Adam therefore
defended his sin by pointing
Moses to the fact that he did
something God had decreed 40
years before He created Adam.
(pp. 114-115)
The author says that this
hadith contains ‘no evidence’
to support those who use
qadar as an excuse for sin.5
5 disability to do them. (p. 120)
‘No evidence’ is a strong term, as the
hadith seems to mean exactly what
the author tries to refute: The Prophet
Adam cannot be held accountable for
his sin (as Prophets in Islam are
beyond that) as it was God who willed
Adam to sin in line with His eternal
decree.
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‘Adam cited qadar […] as the
cause of the calamity, not the
sin, because qadar is an
acceptable explanation for
calamities, but it is not a
reasonable justification for
sins.’ (pp. 115-116)
The author says that only
when one has repented from
sin and given them up, it is
acceptable to use qadar as an
excuse for the sin; in that
context it means one is
acknowledging Tawheed, as it
shows that one has no power
and strength of one’s own. (p.
117)
People must accept and
bear with patience what Allah
decrees of calamities. (p. 118)
5.4.6 The claim that
obliging people to do
something other than what
they have done is obliging
them to do something that
is beyond their capabilities
Islam negates this idea, and
underlines that people are able
to do good. In as far as the
Qur’an speaks of people being
unable to do good, has to do
with their neglect of the
commands, not with their
5.4.7 The view that implies
that all creatures are equal
This view leads people to
consider good and bad people
as equal; but God has
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
differentiated between them.
(p. 122)
5.5 The View of Ahl as-
Sunnah wal-Jamaa‘ah
concerning Qadar
5.5.1 Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah sums up their
point of view
‘Allah is the Creator and
Sovereign of all things, which
includes all independent
entities and their attributes,
such as people’s deeds and
other things. […] Whatever He
wills happens, and whatever
He does not will does not
happen. Nothing can happen
except by His will and decree.
[…] Allah knows what has
happened and what is yet to
come; if it is not to happen, He
knows how it would have been
if it had happened. […] Allah
decreed the decrees of His
creation before he created
them; He decreed their
lifespans, their provision and
their deeds, and wrote that
down, and he wrote down their
ultimate destiny, who will be
blessed and who will be
doomed.’ (pp. 123-124)
‘People are commanded to
do that which Allah has
commanded them, and are
forbidden to do that which
Allah has for bidden. [There] is
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no justification for anyone with
regard to neglecting any
obligatory duty or committing
any forbidden act.’ (p. 124)
‘Allah is the Creator or all
things. What He wills happens,
and what He does not will does
not happen. Allah sends astray
whomsoever He wills, and He
guides whomsoever He wills.
[People] have their own will
and freedom to choose, so
they do by their own will and
power that which Allah enables
them to do, but […] people do
not will anything except that
which Allah wills.’ (pp. 124-
125)
5.5.2 The ‘aqeedah of Imam
Bakr Muhammad al-Husayn
al-Aaajurri concerning
predestination (qadar)
‘Allah created Paradise and
created Hell. For each of them
He created its people, and He
swore by His Glory that He
would fill Hell with jinn and
mankind together. Then He
created Adam, and brought
forth from his loins all the
progeny that He would create
until the Day of Resurrection.
He divided them into two
groups, a group for Paradise
and a group for Hell.’ (p. 125)
‘He created Iblees (Satan)
and commanded him to
prostrate to Adam. He knew
that he would not prostrate
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
because of the decree to which
he was subject, the decree
that he would be doomed,
which Allah knew beforehand.
None can oppose the ruling of
Allah. […] He created Adam
and Hawwa (Eve) and He
created them to come to this
earth. He caused them to
dwell in Paradise, and
commanded them to eat freely
with pleasure and delight […]
but He forbade them to come
near one tree. But His decree
that they would disobey Him
by eating from that tree came
to pass.’ (p. 125)
‘So they could not avoid
eating from it, as a cause of
their sin and expulsion from
Paradise, because they had
been created to come to this
earth, and Allah would forgive
them after they had sinned.
All of this was known to Him
aforetime, and it is not
permissible that anything
should happen in His creation
without Him having already
decreed it. […] He created His
creation as and when He
willed, and He made them
doomed and blessed before He
brought them forth into this
world.’ (p. 126)
‘All the creation belongs to
Him, and He does whatever He
wants to His creation, without
being unjust to them.’ (p. 127)
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‘He loves obedience from
His slaves and commands
them to obey Him, and those
who are helped by Him obey
Him. He forbids disobedience
but he has willed that it should
happen, without liking it and
without commanding people to
do it. Glorified be Allah above
enjoining or loving evil.’ (p.
127)
‘By His command, the Pen
wrote in al-Lauh al-Mahfooz
what was to come of righteous
deeds and immoral actions.
He praised those among His
slaves who obey Him; He
attributes their good deeds to
them and promises them a
great reward for that, even
though without His help they
could not have done these
deeds for which they deserve
the reward.’ (p. 127)
‘Similarly, he condemns
those who disobey Him, and
warns against doing so. He
attributes their actions to
them, and that is in
accordance with the decree to
which they were subject.’ (p.
128)
5.5.3 The ‘aqeedah of At-
Tahaawi concerning
predestination
At-Tahaawi is only quoted here
in as far as it adds to the
words of Imam Bakr
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
Muhammad al-Husayn al-
Aaajurri.
‘Everything happens
according to His decree and
will, and His will is irresistible.
His slaves have no will except
within the will of Allah, for
whatever Allah wills happens,
and whatever he does not will
does not happen.’ (p. 128)
‘[Each] person is guided to
do that for which he was
created. They will be judged
according to their last deeds.’
(p. 129)
‘The principle of qadar […]
is a secret of Allah’s creation
which He did not expose to any
angel who is close to Him or to
any Prophet who was sent by
Him. Discussing the matter in
depth leads to misguidance,
deprivation (of Allah’s mercy)
and transgression (into
forbidden territory). So
beware of that and be careful
to avoid pursuing the matter in
your thoughts and questioning.
For Allah has kept the
knowledge of qadar […] away
from His creation and has
forbidden them to try to
fathom it.’ (p. 129)
At-Tahaawi quotes the
Qur’an 21:23 (He cannot be
questioned as to what He does,
while they will be questioned)
and concludes: ‘Whoever asks:
“Why does He do that?’ has
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rejected the ruling of the
Qur’an, and whoever rejects
the ruling of the Qur’an is one
of the kaafir (unbelievers).’ (p.
130)
‘Knowledge is of two types:
knowledge which is manifested
in creation, and knowledge
that is concealed from
creation. Denying the
knowledge that is manifested
in kufr (disbelief), and claiming
to know the things that are
concealed, is kufr (disbelief).’
(p. 130)
‘We believe in al-Lauh al-
Mahfooz [...] and in the Pen,
and in everything in it that has
been decreed. […] The Pen has
dried concerning what is to
happen until the day of
Resurrection. (p. 130)
6. Reasons why
People go astray with
regard to Qadar
‘The reasons why the
Qadariyah [...] who denied
predestination (qadar) and the
Jabariyah who believed that
man is compelled to do what
he does (al-jabr) went astray
on this issue. Each group saw
only a part of the true picture,
and was blind to the other
parts.’ (p. 133)
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)
The correct view: ‘Although
Allah wills that disobedience
and should exist by His decree,
he does not love them or
accept them or command
them; rather he hates them
and forbids them.’ (p. 133)
Orthodox scholars say that
‘in the Book of Allah, His Will is
of two types: His qadari will,
i.e., His decrees concerning His
creation, and His shar‘ee will,
i.e., the laws that he wants His
slaves to follow. His shar‘ee
will encompasses all that he
loves and is pleased with; His
qadari or kawni (universal) will
encompasses all that exists.’
(p. 134)
‘This kind of will (shar‘ee)
does not necessarily come to
pass, unless it is joined by the
second type of will.’ (p. 135)
The blessed ones among
the slaves of Allah are those
for whom Allah decrees the
same by His universal qadari
will as by His shar‘ee will. The
doomed ones are those for
whom He wills by His universal
qadari will that which He does
not will by His shar‘ee will. [pp.
137-138] Whoever looks at
people’s deeds through both
lenses (i.e., acknowledges both
types of will) has full sight.’ (p.
138)
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7. The benefits of
believing in Qadar
7.1 It is a means of ridding
oneself of shirk
Perfect Tawheed is only
attained by people who affirm
that Allah Alone is the Creator
of all that is in the universe,
and that His will prevails over
creation. ‘Belief in qadar is
what marks the difference
between Tawheed and shirk.’
(pp. 139-140)
7.2 Adhering to the True
Path during both Times of
Ease and Times of Difficulty
Belief in qadar makes people
‘not reckless at times of ease,
and […] not fall into despair
when calamity strikes, for he
knows that everything good
that happens comes from
Allah, and is not because of his
intelligence or good planning.’
(p. 140)
‘And when trials and
tribulations befall a person, he
knows that this is happening
by the decree of Allah, as test
for him, so he does not panic
or despair; rather he seeks the
reward of Allah and bears it
with patience, and this faith
brings contentment and
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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)

tranquility to he heart of the 7.4 Facing Difficulties and

believer.’ (p. 142)
7.3 The One Who Believes
in Qadar is always Careful
The believer is always careful
lest there come to him
something which will lead him
astray, just as he always fears
that his final actions may be
bad. This does not make him
lazy and apathetic; rather it
motivates him to strive
persistently to follow the
straight path. (p. 143)
Dangers with a Strong
Heart
When a person believes that
everything that happens is
decreed, and that provisions
and lifespans are in the hand
of Allah, then he can confront
difficulties and ordeals with a
strong heart and with his head
held high. This belief was one
of the greatest motives with
spurred the mujaahideen
(warriors in the way of Allah)
to acts of courage on the
battlefield without feeling
scared. (p. 143)

++++++++++++++++ end of summary ++++++++++++++++

Some Questions

1. What is qadar according to this book?

2. What do Qadaris believe regarding qadar and free will?

3. What do Jabaris believe regarding qadar according to this

book?

4. According to the author, does God send people to Paradise

and Hell because of their deeds? What does God reward
people for?

5. What do you think of the author’s equation of the thoughts

and deeds of man with God’s direct creative acts?

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 St Francis Magazine Nr. 4 Vol. II (March 2007)

6. Does man have a free will according to the author, or does

Allah force man to do what he does? Could Adam have
decided to not sin?

7. How does the author argue that people should strive for doing
good instead of being fatalistic and apathetic?

8. Why does the author call the idea that man is a free agent,
shirk?

9. Did God will and create evil?

10. What does the author mean with the two types of wills of
God?

11. How do the Pen, the Preserved Tablet, the Qur’an, Lailat al-
Qadar and qadar relate to each other?

12. The translator of the book said that while ‘all that happens,
takes place within the framework of the Divine Will, man has
freedom of choice within those parameters’.(p.13) Do you
think the author of the book would like that summary of his
views?

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